Department for Transport

Cycling: Infrastructure

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will include impact on motorcyclists as an additional factor in the Cycling Level of Service Tool audit as set out in his Department's paper entitled Cycle Infrastructure Design, published in July 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Trudy Harrison: The Department’s Cycle Infrastructure Design Guidance (Local Transport Note 1/20) provides guidance to local authorities on building good quality cycle infrastructure and integrating it safely into their local roads. It includes advice on safely managing interactions between cyclists and other road users, including motorcyclists, and suggests ways of reducing the particular risks to motorcyclists that can arise from the use of certain types of light segregation features.

Bus Service Operators Grant

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the review of the Bus Service Operators’ Grant will be completed.

Trudy Harrison: The Department for Transport remains committed to the reform of the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), and as promised in the National Bus Strategy we will publish a consultation on this. Work is underway on proposals, however this has been delayed as a result of responding to the impact of the Covid pandemic.Ahead of the wider consultation, and any resulting changes, we have already increased the rate at which BSOG can be claimed for Zero Emission Buses from 6p to 22p per kilometre.

Driving Licences: Digital Technology

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the digitisation of the process for applying for driving licences through the DVLA.

Trudy Harrison: The quickest and easiest way to transact with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.The DVLA is continuing to expand its driver application online services over the next year. This will allow customers to upload their own photograph and signature instead of using one from a UK passport, as the current service requires. The DVLA is also working with the Home Office to create an electronic link to its View and prove your immigration status service. This will allow those with a non-UK passport to be authenticated online and use the DVLA online application service.Drivers with diabetes, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, a visual impairment, a sleep condition or a heart condition are also able to renew their licence online.The DVLA has also recently introduced a simplified licence renewal process for drivers with epilepsy and multiple sclerosis and is piloting this for some mental health conditions. This renewal process has significantly reduced the need for the DVLA to seek further information from medical professionals and enabled more licensing decisions to be made based on the information provided by the driver. The DVLA is looking at adding more medical conditions to this new process.

Driving Licences: Applications

Sir Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that the DVLA (a) clears the backlog of driving licence applications and (b) expedites the time taken for applicants to receive their renewed licences.

Trudy Harrison: The quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence is by using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online service. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their licence within a few days.However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. The Government understands the impact that delays in processing paper applications can have on the daily lives of individuals and the DVLA is working hard to reduce waiting times. The DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham to reduce backlogs and provide future resilience. These measures are having a positive impact.The backlog of vehicle paper applications has already been eliminated. Straightforward vocational driving licence applications and renewals are being processed within five working days with no backlog. The DVLA is on track to return to normal turnaround times on all paper driving licence applications by the end of May. Most straightforward paper driving licence applications are now being processed in around five weeks. Information on processing times for key DVLA workstreams is published online here.The more complex driving licence applications where the customer has a medical condition(s) that must be investigated will take longer to recover. This area was targeted for industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union last year and also DVLA cases were deprioritised by the NHS at a number of points during the pandemic. The large majority of applicants renewing an existing licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing the driver can meet specific criteria. More information can be found online here.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Standards

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

Trudy Harrison: The quickest and easiest way to transact with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. The Government understands the impact that delays in processing paper applications can have on the daily lives of individuals and the DVLA is working hard to reduce waiting times. The DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham to reduce backlogs and provide future resilience. These measures are having a positive impact.The backlog of vehicles paper applications has already been eliminated. Straightforward vocational driving licence applications and renewals are being processed within five working days with no backlog. The DVLA is on track to return to normal turnaround times on all paper driving licence applications by the end of May. Most straightforward paper driving licence applications are now being processed in around five weeks. Information on processing times for key DVLA workstreams is published online here.The more complex driving licence applications where the customer has a medical condition(s) that must be investigated will take longer to recover. This area was targeted for industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union last year and also DVLA cases were deprioritised by the NHS at a number of points during the pandemic. The large majority of applicants renewing an existing licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing the driver can meet specific criteria. More information can be found online here.

Airports: Security

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that sufficient resources are in place to enable the processing of references and security checks for (a) airport security officers and (b) airside roles.

Robert Courts: We are engaging with the aviation industry and are looking for ways to help the industry to recover quickly as we emerge from the COVID pandemic and travel restarts. Security continues to be paramount and we will not allow people to work airside when they have not been subject to the appropriate enquiries. The travelling public must have confidence that appropriate security measures are in place at airports. They would expect nothing less of government.There are two categories of checks. The first are industry security checks. These include checks on an individual’s employment and education history over five years. These checks are the responsibility of the industry – they can take time and we continue to engage with them to understand any challenges. The second category are checks by Government. These are being processed in a timely manner. There are no delays, and the aviation industry is fully aware of the time these important checks take.

Ferries: Irish Sea

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that all those involved in the operation of commercial ferries crossing the Irish Sea have the neccesary qualifications.

Robert Courts: Ensuring that seafarers operating all ships have the necessary international recognised qualifications, showing that they are properly trained and have the required level of proficiency for their roles, is the responsibility of the maritime administration of the country that the ship is registered with, the flag State.In addition, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency will inspect all non-UK registered ferries that operate out of the United Kingdom on an annual basis, as the port State, under the Port State Control inspection regime. In relation to ferries, other EU member states, including Ireland, will also inspect them annually as required by the European Ro-Ro Passenger Ship Directive. These are additional checks that only applies to ferries.

Travel Restrictions: France

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the French Government on the removal of travel restrictions for those wishing to visit France this summer.

Robert Courts: The Department for Transport and the British Embassy in Paris have engaged with the French government on border health measures throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so as passenger numbers increase.The United Kingdom was placed on France’s ‘Green List’ on 31 March, meaning that fully vaccinated travellers who present proof at the border are no longer subject to any testing requirements, and unvaccinated travellers are only required to undertake a pre-departure test or present a certificate of recovery. These rules apply to passengers aged 12 and over.The UK was one of the first major economies to remove all its remaining COVID-19 travel restrictions, from Friday 18 March.

Railways: Tickets

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the application process for train passes is accessible to people who do not have access to the internet.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the number of train ticket offices on the ability of people who do not have internet access or are unable to use that technology to purchase train tickets.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to undertake an equalities and vulnerability impact assessment of proposals to reduce the number of train ticket offices.

Wendy Morton: The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail outlines the changes and modernisation needed for fares, ticketing and retailing to simplify and improve the passenger experience.It is imperative that passengers should have access to a ticketing system that is user-friendly, where help and advice from a trained representative is available and is accessible to all. As modern ticketing and payments methods roll out more widely, we will ensure that all passengers are able to buy a ticket including those who need to use cash or do not have access to smartphones or the internet.

Railways: Wolverhampton South West

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress the Government has made in improving the connectivity of the Wolverhampton South West constituency to the rest of the rail network.

Wendy Morton: The recently awarded £1.05 billion City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement will enable West Midlands Combined Authority to review its priorities and the value of commencing early business case development for schemes such as the new railway station proposed at Tettenhall.

Public Transport: Coronavirus

Mr Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to promote the return of public transport following the covid-19 outbreak.

Trudy Harrison: The Government has provided nearly £2bn of support for local transport networks to date through emergency and recovery grants to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.The Government has announced a further £183.9m in funding for local transport providers to continue supporting the sector following the Covid-19 pandemic from April until October 2022. A condition of this new funding will be that both Local Transport Authorities and operators work closely together to ensure that effective and financially sustainable networks which cater for the needs of the local public are implemented once recovery funding ends.The Government has also started to see some substantial changes in passenger demand for rail travel and is working with the rail industry to develop a number of recovery initiatives, including a recent promotional national marketing campaign, focused on restoring passenger confidence and encouraging passengers to choose rail. Further announcements will be made in due course.

Motor Vehicles: Safety

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals for improved driver vehicle safety standards through the implementation of operator roll-over protection for six wheeled off road vehicles.

Trudy Harrison: Requirements for six wheeled off-road vehicles vary according to the exact vehicle type. The most appropriate safety equipment varies according to the wide variety of potential applications for these vehicles. The Health and Safety Executive publish guidance on the safe use of all-terrain vehicles, and is responsible for enforcement of workplace health and safety.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Fertilisers

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to safeguard the operation of the (a) Billingham and (b) Ince fertiliser plants.

Lee Rowley: An industry agreement reached in October ensured that CF Fertilisers on Teesside could continue to operate for 3 months. This market-led agreement was renewed in January 2022 and continue a the current time, even with high global gas prices. The Government welcomes industry’s agreement which is in the best interests of businesses. The continued operations at Billingham, and any decision to restart operations at Ince, remains a commercial matter for the company. In the longer term, the Government would like to see the market take measures to improve resilience, and we are engaging on ways this could happen. We would encourage industry, where possible, to pay a price necessary to continue to secure the supply of these critical chemicals and to continue to build their resilience plans.

Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to review the efficacy of sections (a) 193 (b) 193A and (c) 194 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

Paul Scully: The Government wrote to the Insolvency Service on 23 March asking it to undertake an urgent and thorough enquiry into the recent actions of P&O Ferries, to determine whether the law has been complied with and consider prompt and appropriate action where it has not. The Insolvency Service confirmed on 01 April that following its enquiries it has initiated both formal and civil investigations into the circumstances surrounding the redundancies made by P&O Ferries. The Rt. Hon. Member will appreciate that while these investigations are being progressed it would not be appropriate to make further comment but the Insolvency Service will provide an update in due course.

Summertime

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of calls to maintain British Summer Time throughout the calendar year.

Paul Scully: The Government has no plans to change the daylight-saving arrangements. The Government believes that the current daylight-saving arrangements represent the optimal use of the available daylight across the UK.

Trade Unions

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to reform section 188 of the Trade Union Act 2016 to allow punitive damage for breach of the duty to consult.

Paul Scully: There are clear rules in place requiring companies to consult when making large scale redundancies. Most companies follow these rules. In the case of P&O Ferries, the Insolvency Service wrote to the Secretary of State for Business on 01 April confirming that following its enquiries it has commenced formal criminal and civil investigations into the circumstances surrounding their recent redundancies. The Hon. Member will appreciate that while these investigations are being progressed it would not be appropriate to make further comment but the Insolvency Service will provide an update in due course.

Re-employment: Codes of Practice

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Written Statement of 29 March 2022, HCWS735 on Business Update, what period of consultation he plans to provide on the Draft statutory code; and what steps he will take to engage trade unions in that consultation.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Written Statement of 29 March 2022, HCWS735 on Business Update, whether he plans for the statutory code of practice to be in force by the end of 2022.

Paul Scully: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will bring forward a statutory code of practice on dismissal and reengagement. Under section 204 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the Secretary of State is required to publish a draft and consider any representations. The Department will engage with trade unions as part of that consultation. The scope of the Code and its remedies will be in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Legislation to lay the Code will be introduced when parliamentary time allows and will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

P&O Ferries: Redundancy

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2022 to Question 147058 P&O Ferries: Redundancy, whether he has contacted the relevant authorities directly in relation to redundancies at P&O Ferries.

Paul Scully: The Government wrote to the Insolvency Service on 23 March asking it to undertake an urgent and thorough enquiry into the recent actions of P&O Ferries, to determine whether the law has been complied with and consider prompt and appropriate action where it has not. The Insolvency Service confirmed on 1st April that following its enquiries it has initiated both formal and civil investigations into the circumstances surrounding the redundancies made by P&O Ferries. The Rt. Hon. Member will appreciate that while these investigations are being progressed it would not be appropriate to make further comment, but the Insolvency Service will provide an update in due course.

Department of Health and Social Care

Obesity

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the rate of adult obesity has declined in England since 2012.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in how many English local authorities the rate of adult obesity has declined between 2012 and 2022.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in how many English local authorities the rate of adult obesity has increased between 2012 and 2022.

Maggie Throup: Data from the Health Survey for England (HSE) shows that obesity prevalence in adults in England has increased from 24.7% in 2012 to 28.0% in 2019, the latest data available. Data for local authorities is not held in the format requested as this records combined overweight and obese categories. However, the latest data available from the Active Lives Adult Survey shows that the proportion of adults classified as overweight or living with obesity statistically significantly increased between 2015/16 and 2019/20 in 17 of 148 upper tier local authorities. No local authorities had statistically significant decreases.

Coronavirus: Screening

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the funding required for NHS England to continue free regular asymptomatic covid-19 testing of NHS staff.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact on NHS budgets of the continuation of free regular asymptomatic covid-19 testing of NHS staff.

Maggie Throup: The cost of any resilience measures required are managed in agreement with relevant Government departments, including HM Treasury. In order to ensure that the ongoing cost of resilience and contingency measures, such as the continuation of free symptomatic testing in high risk settings, are met sustainably, these costs will be met within the Department’s existing Spending Review settlement.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to roll out a covid-19 booster injection for elderly and clinically extremely vulnerable people.

Maggie Throup: The Government accepted the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice to offer a further booster dose to those aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults and the immunosuppressed. The UK Health Security Agency’s data shows that as of 10 April 2022, more than 1.3 million people aged 75 years old and over and more than 35,000 immunosuppressed people in England have received at least three doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccination appointments are available via NHS.UK or 119. Hundreds of walk-in centres are also available to those eligible without an appointment. In addition, local National Health Service teams are also offering vaccinations in care homes.

Obesity: Children

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the rate of childhood obesity in England has declined since 2012.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many local authorities have experienced a decline in the rate of childhood obesity between 2012 and 2022.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many local authorities have experienced an increase in the rate of childhood obesity between 2012 and 2022.

Maggie Throup: In England the proportion of children living with obesity has increased since 2012. Data from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) shows that for children aged four to five years old, obesity prevalence between 2011/2012 and 2020/2021, the latest year available, has increased from 9.5% to 14.4% and for children aged 10 to 11 years old, it has increased from 19.2% to 25.5%. Data from the Health Survey for England shows that obesity prevalence in children aged two to 15 years old increased from 13.7% in 2012 to 16.3% in 2019, the latest data available. Local authority child obesity prevalence is collected via the NCMP. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, insufficient data for 2020/21 was collected to produce statistically robust results. Data from 2019/2020 was published for the majority of local authorities. When comparing the 2019/2020 estimate to 2011/2012 in children aged four to five years old, of 141 upper tier local authorities, 29 had obesity prevalence estimates which were statistically significantly higher and 13 were statistically significantly lower. In children aged 10 to 11 years old, 61 out of 144 local authorities had statistically significantly higher obesity prevalence estimates and 1 had a statistically significantly lower obesity prevalence.

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March 2022 to Question 146545, on Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, whether each claimant will be given the identity of the caseworkers assigned to their case; and what the key points at which updates will be provided.

Maggie Throup: The NHS Business Services Authority is ensuring each claimant has only a limited number of named caseworkers assigned to their claim. However, the surname and personal National Health Service email address of the caseworkers is not shared as this is considered personal information. Caseworker teams will contact claimants to provide regular updates on the progress of their claim, including when the claim form is received, when medical records are requested from the claimants’ healthcare providers and the outcome of the claim after it has been medically assessed.

Coronavirus: Screening

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of rapid covid-19 lateral flow dispatched by NHS England in (a) July 2021, (b) August 2021, (c) September 2021 and (d) October 2021.

Maggie Throup: This information is currently being collated and validated and will be published in due course.

Chemicals: Regulation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to revoke EU Commission Regulation 2017/542 of 22 March 2017, amending Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, named as Annex VIII to CLP, copied from EU law into UK law which governs poison centre notification requirements for hazardous chemical mixtures.

Maggie Throup: The Department is currently confirming the United Kingdom’s position on Annex VIII. This will include engagement with industry and stakeholders.

Food: Salt

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to monitor the private sector's progress towards the 2024 salt reduction targets.

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what penalties will be imposed on companies that fail to meet the 2024 salt reduction targets.

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the progress of individual companies in meeting the 2024 salt reduction targets will be published in the 2022 update on those targets.

Maggie Throup: The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities monitors the food industry’s progress towards achieving the 2024 salt reduction targets. The first report on the food industry’s progress is expected later in 2022, which will include analysis of industry progress at sector and individual business level. Options will be considered should a continued voluntary approach demonstrate insufficient progress by 2024.

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking the ensure that people with immune deficiency are able to equitably and safely participate in society under the plan for living with covid; and if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of findings of the study led by researchers from the University of Birmingham on the (a) comparatively higher risk of mortality following a covid-19 infection for people with primary and secondary immunodeficiency and (b) response to vaccination of those people.

Maggie Throup: Antiviral and other therapeutic treatments and booster vaccinations are being provided for eligible patients at higher risk of developing serious illness. On 4 April 2022, updated public health guidance was issued for those whose immune system means they are at higher risk from COVID-19, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-riskWe have no plans to make a formal assessment of the study led by researchers from the University of Birmingham.

Coronavirus: Screening

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the context of rising numbers of covid-19 infections in the UK, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on the NHS of NHS staff of ending free universal symptomatic and asymptomatic covid-19 testing from April 2022.

Maggie Throup: Symptomatic testing in healthcare settings, where infection can spread rapidly once it incurs, remains important to ensure that infection is detected as quickly as possible, reducing the possibility and impact of outbreaks.Symptomatic testing will therefore continue to be provided free to:NHS staff and staff in NHS-funded Independent Healthcare ProvisionStaff and residents in Adult Social Care services and HospicesDuring periods of high prevalence, asymptomatic testing will continue to mitigate risk. Testing will continue to be provided for:Patient-facing staff in the NHS and NHS-funded Independent Healthcare ProvisionStaff in Adult Social Care Services and Hospices and visitors who provide close contact personal care. The government will continue to keep the country’s response to COVID-19 under review to ensure our response remains effective and proportionate. We will continue to monitor prevalence and other factors that will determine when testing is needed.

Health Services: Home Visits

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued on the criteria used to determine whether a person is deemed to be housebound and eligible for home visits from healthcare professionals.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to update guidance on eligibility for home visits from healthcare professionals for a person who is deemed to be housebound.

Maria Caulfield: Under the GP Contract, practices must provide services to a patient outside of practice premises in instances where, in the reasonable opinion of the practice, it is considered that a consultation is required and it would be inappropriate for the patient to attend the practice premises. Practices must provide this service at the patient’s last recorded home address or another place in the contractor’s practice area.In 2014/15, contract arrangements were updated to introduce a measure allowing general practitioner practices to register patients from outside the practice areas without a duty to provide home visits for such patients, where considered clinically appropriate. Where an individual is registered as an out of area patient without home visits, NHS England and NHS Improvement are responsible for ensuring continued access to primary medical services in cases of an urgent care need when at home and it would be inappropriate for the patient to attend the practice. There are no plans to change the current GP Contract requirements related to home visits.

Radiotherapy: Medical Treatments

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to help increase access to radiotherapy treatments in the 10-year cancer plan; and if he will meet with parliamentarians and Radiotherapy UK to discuss that matter.

Maria Caulfield: The forthcoming 10 Year Cancer Plan is currently in development and we are assessing evidence on a range of policy proposals. We are also analysing the responses received to the call for evidence which closed in early April. A meeting with members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Radiotherapy and representatives of Radiotherapy UK has been scheduled.

Diabetes: Children

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people under the age of 18 were diagnosed with diabetes in each of the last five years.

Maria Caulfield: The following table shows the number of people in England under the age of 18 years old diagnosed with diabetes by type in each of the five years. Diagnosis yearType 1Type 2 and other20172,97549020182,97551520193,14560520203,62057020214,095785 Source: National Diabetes AuditNote:Data was collected from primary care with general practitioner practice participation at 95% or over for all the Audit years.

Ventilators

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many ventilators purchased by his Department since 2020 have been found unsuitable for use.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Excalibur Healthcare Services

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has paid to Excalibur Healthcare for the purchase of personal protective equipment; and whether that company has met its contractual obligations for providing adequate personal protective equipment under the contractual terms set by his Department.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Protective Clothing: Waste Disposal

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the potential (a) units and (b) purchased cost of personal protective equipment which the Department plans to incinerate in (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Travel

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking in respect of each public body for which he is responsible to encourage (a) active travel by staff, (b) the use of public transport by staff and (c) a reduction in the carbon emissions associated with staff commuting.

Michelle Donelan: Where staff are required to travel on official business, the departmental policy encourages the use of sustainable modes of transport. Public transport should always be considered first whilst value for money must be a priority. Staff are encouraged to use the cycle to work scheme and can also be reimbursed for using their own bicycles.The department and responsible public bodies are committed to reducing the overall greenhouse gas emissions. This is progressed as part of our committed targets under the Greening Government Commitments.

Office for Students: Political Impartiality

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the appointment of Rachel Houchen as a non-executive director of the Office for Students (OfS), if will make an assessment of the political impartiality of the OfS.

Michelle Donelan: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, appoints non-executive directors to the Board of the Office for Students in accordance with Schedule 1 of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 and the Governance Code for Public Appointments, which can be found here: https://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/regulating-appointments/governance-code/.Rachel Houchen is not a member of any political party but, in any event, under section 9.2 of the Governance Code, political activity is not a bar to an appointment on the board of an arms-length body.Rachel Houchen was appointed following a fair and open competition, in line with the Governance Code for Public Appointments.

Scholarships

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when applications to the National Scholarship Scheme to open.

Michelle Donelan: We are currently considering options for the design of the scholarship, which will determine the date for rolling out the scheme.As part of the higher education reform consultation, we welcome views on how the eligibility for a national scholarship scheme should be set to support students and address ongoing financial barriers that can restrict high achieving, disadvantaged students from achieving their full academic potential whilst studying in higher education.

Department for Education: Telephones

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department has spent on phone bills each of the last 5 years.

Michelle Donelan: The table below details the department’s spend, by telephony type, on bills over the last five years for the period 1 April 2017 – 31 March 2022. The table highlights the breakdown on a financial year (April – March) basis.  Financial Year/Service2017-20182018-20192019-20202020-20212021-2022Mobile Telephony£651,220.09£492,834.91£240,573.06£374,504.50£280,877.58Fixed Line Telephony£661,250.81£491,787.50£619,918.22£219,930.80£65,537.20Soft Phone TelephonyN/AN/A£1,022.04£66,229.95£152,634.64

Office for Students: Directors

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Office for Students on setting the salary of non-executive directors.

Michelle Donelan: Under Schedule 1, Section 4(2) of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, it is for my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education to set the terms and conditions of a person’s appointment as a member of the Office for Students (OfS). Under Schedule 1, section 6(1), the OfS must pay to members of the OfS such remuneration as the Secretary of State may determine.As outlined in the Governance Code for Public Appointments, there is a requirement for ministers to agree the remuneration of appointees of the boards of public bodies prior to a competition opening. The remuneration of £9,180 per annum for non-executive directors of the OfS board was approved by ministers when the OfS was established, and is approved each time a new competition is launched.

Students: Loans

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the impact of the rise in inflation on the purchasing power of the average size maintenance loan.

Michelle Donelan: We are freezing maximum tuition fees for the 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years.Students from the lowest-income households have access to the largest ever amounts of support for their living costs in cash terms. Maximum grants and loans for living costs were increased by 3.1% this academic year, and we have announced that they will increase by a further 2.3% next year.Many providers have hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance should individuals’ finances be affected in academic year 2021/22. The government is also making available discretionary funding of £144 million to be provided to support vulnerable people and individuals on low incomes.Grant funding to the Office for Students (OfS) for the 2021/22 financial year included an allocation of £5 million to higher education providers in England in order to provide additional support for student hardship.In our guidance to the OfS on funding for the 2021/22 financial year we made clear that the OfS should protect the £256 million allocation for the student premiums to support disadvantaged students and those that need additional help. The 2022/23 financial year guidance to the OfS confirms universities will continue to be able to support students in hardship through the student premium. Ministers’ Strategic Priorities Grant guidance letter to the OfS asks that the OfS looks to protect the student premium in cash terms for financial year 2022/23.Advice is available from providers and from other sources online to help students manage their money while they are attending their courses.

Universities: Freedom of Expression

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with how many Vice Chancellors he had had discussions on the matter of freedom of speech as of February 2020.

Michelle Donelan: Since coming into post in 2021, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has had wide ranging discussions with individual and groups of Vice-Chancellors, representatives from higher education representative groups, leading academics, and others. It is not possible to enumerate those discussions which covered freedom of speech.

Students: Housing

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to use the provisions in the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 to reveal the beneficial owners of purpose-built student accommodation.

Michelle Donelan: The Register of Overseas Entities forms part of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022, which received Royal Assent on 15 March 2022. Once the register opens for registrations, new acquisitions by overseas entities, including of purpose-built student accommodation, will have to be registered across the UK.Overseas companies already owning land in England and Wales, and Scotland, will be required to register their beneficial owners within six months. This will already include the beneficial owners of purpose-built student accommodation, if applicable. Any overseas entity disposing of its property holdings between 28 February 2022 and the end of the transition period will be required to provide information to Companies House about the beneficial owners of the entity at the time of disposal. This includes where the disposal relates to any student accommodation.

Higher Education: Finance

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the membership of the higher education financial sustainability group is.

Michelle Donelan: The membership of the higher education Financial Sustainability Oversight Group is:Department for Education:Deputy Director of Higher Education Reform (Chair).Deputy Director of Higher Education and Further Education Finance Business Partnering.Deputy Director for Further Education Quality, College Improvement and Sponsorship.Head of Higher Education Restructuring Regime and Financial Sustainability.Higher Education Finance Business Partner.Senior Economist.Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy:Deputy Director, Impact and Research.Head of Policy for University Research and Knowledge Exchange.Lead Policy Analyst for UK Research & Innovation Institutions and System.Research Officer for UK Research & Institutions and System.The Office for Students:Director of Resources, Finance and Transformation.Head of Sector Level Finance Data and Analysis.Head of Student Protection.UK Research and Innovation:Head of Sustainability, Research England. Additional members whose skills, knowledge, and experience are required are invited to attend all or part of a meeting, as and when appropriate.

Universities: Remote Education

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with how many Vice Chancellors he had had discussions on the provision of online teaching as of February 2020.

Michelle Donelan: Since his appointment in 2021, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has regularly engaged with university Vice-Chancellors, higher education (HE) representative and mission groups, leading academics, and others who are active in the sector.These conversations have covered a wide range of HE sector issues. Although it is not possible to precisely quantify those discussions which have covered online teaching, the Secretary of State has made very clear his view that students must be able to expect high-quality teaching. This includes face-to-face teaching. I have been speaking with a number of university Vice-Chancellors to ensure they are offering students the amount of in-person teaching they should expect.The government has removed all restrictions on in-person teaching. This means providers are able to offer the full face-to-face teaching experience that they were offering before the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual learning is a fantastic innovation that can be used to complement and enhance a student’s learning experience, not detract from it. It should not be used as a cost-cutting exercise.The Office for Students (OfS) has recently launched a review of blended learning. The review will examine blended methods of course delivery and consider which approaches represent high-quality teaching and learning, as well as which approaches fall short of the OfS' regulatory requirements.

Department for Education: Cybersecurity

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the comments made by the Director of GCHQ on 31 March 2022 on the standard of the UK's cybersecurity, whether he has made a recent assessment of the cybersecurity and resilience to cyber attack of (a) his Department, (b) Ofqual and Ofsted and (c) the (i) executive agencies, (ii) the executive non-departmental public bodies, (iii) advisory non-departmental public bodies and (iv) other public bodies for which he is responsible; and if he will make a statement.

Michelle Donelan: The department follows standard government security assessments to review and monitor cyber security and resilience. Departmental health security checks are carried out annually to track actions and progress.We do not directly assess the cyber security resilience of agencies and arm’s length bodies (ALBs). The department’s agencies and ALBs are responsible for maintaining their IT systems and cyber security, and are supported by the Cyber Security Division to provide advice, guidance and support to adhere to and maintain good cyber security standards. The Cyber Security Division has a dedicated team who are responsible for the ongoing relationship with the department’s agencies and ALBs, and for providing regular targeted communications to raise awareness for any identified emerging threats and provide guidance to address and mitigate.The department also works closely with partners such as Jisc to ensure that the same guidance, standards and support are available for higher and further education establishments.

Department for Education: Parking

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many car parking spaces have been made available to staff (a) free of charge and (b) at a charge at each of the office premises operated by (a) his Department, (b) Ofqual and Ofsted, (c) his executive agencies, (d) his executive non-departmental public bodies, (e) his advisory non-departmental public bodies and (f) other public bodies for which he is responsible; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much revenue his Department has raised by charging staff for car parking spaces at each of the office premises operated by (a) his Department, (b) Ofqual and Ofsted, (c) his executive agencies, (d) his executive non-departmental public bodies, (e) his advisory non-departmental public bodies and (f) other public bodies for which he is responsible; and if he will make a statement.

Michelle Donelan: The attached table includes data to support the response relating to the Department for Education and arm’s length bodies.151074_151075_table (pdf, 59.2KB)

Educational Institutions: Ukraine

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to ensure UK educational institutions avoid relationships with non-UK organisations that (a) hold or (b) host items taken from Ukrainian territory.

Michelle Donelan: Alongside our allies, we are united in support for Ukraine. I, alongside my hon. Friend, the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, have recently written to the higher education sector to outline our expectation that universities review their partnerships with Russia and take appropriate action.This includes taking action on research partnerships as well as asking universities to review their broader investments arrangements. The department is pleased that the sector appears to already be taking a proactive approach when it comes to reviewing their financial arrangements connected to Russia. Institutions will be bound by new rules restricting Russian investment in line with other British businesses.I am continuing to ask that all universities conduct due diligence when entering into all international partnerships and accepting foreign investment, in line with Universities UK guidance on ‘Managing risks in Internationalisation’.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential (a) merits of giving claimants the right to request an assessor with knowledge of their condition and (b) effect that may have on the number of claims settled after initial assessment.

Chloe Smith: The Department operates a robust quality assurance and independent audit process to ensure assessment decisions are consistent. We recognise that improvements could be made to the assessment process and we plan to publish a Health and Disability White Paper later this year following the views shared in response to the Green Paper published last year.

Housing: Accidents

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information (a) her Department and (b) the Health and Safety Executive hold on the number of fatal falls from residential buildings in the last 10 years.

Chloe Smith: As the regulator for workplace health and safety the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) collects information on fatal injuries resulting from work-related accidents. Data compiled by HSE identifies the number of work-related fatal injuries resulting from falls from height however this data is not held in a way that identifies what the injured person fell from. HSE does not hold information on fatal falls from height that are not work-related. Statistics for work-related fatal injuries are published by HSE on the HSE website. Published statistics for work-related fatal injuries to workers resulting from falls from height for 2011/12 to 2020/21 (provisional) are as follows: Number of fatal injuries from falls from height for:  WorkersOf which…Year EmployeesSelf-employed2011/123814242012/134926232013/144525202014/154228142015/163720172016/17271892017/183520152018/194323202019/203114172020/21 (provisional)351916Note: Statistics presented in the table are for workplace fatal injuries in Great Britain reportable under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrence Regulations (RIDDOR). For more information on RIDDOR see www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/sources.htm.

Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the total number of work capability assessments overturned on appeal.

Chloe Smith: Information on appeal tribunal outcomes in relation to Employment Support Allowance Work Capability Assessments (WCA) is available on Stat-Xplore.https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here:User GuideSimilar information on appeals for Universal Credit WCA is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Assistance Animals: Registration

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the introduction of a registration system for assistance dogs.

Chloe Smith: The services and standards of assistance dogs are currently and historically maintained on the basis of a voluntary regulatory framework. There is no specific legislation for the regulation of assistance dogs and no legislation is planned. There are recognised standards for assistance dogs worldwide set by international bodies to which a number of UK charities and organisations are accredited.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase confidence in the disability benefits assessment process among claimants.

Chloe Smith: The Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper explored how the benefits system can better meet the needs of claimants now and in the future by improving claimant experience of our services, enabling independent living and improving employment outcomes. We recognise that improvements could be made to the assessment process, and we plan to publish a Health and Disability White Paper later this year.

Disability Living Allowance: Medical Examinations

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of assessments for disability living allowance carried out in each of the last five years.

Chloe Smith: The data is not available. The Department currently uses two separate functional assessments to help determine entitlement for health and disability benefits. These are the Personal Independence Payment assessment and the Work Capability Assessment. If required, cases may be referred to an assessment provider so that an assessment can be carried out by a health professional. In the case of Disability Living Allowance, decisions are made on behalf of the Secretary of State by Case Managers (CMs) and only very rarely include an assessment by advice from a health professional. Evidence is provided by the claimant (or in the case of children their parent or guardian) indicating how, in their opinion, the illness or disability affects essential daily activities. Claimants are also encouraged to submit supporting evidence from relatives, carers or Healthcare Professionals. This gives the CM a better picture of the person's care and mobility needs. Therefore, claims can usually be decided without medical assessment advice or without the need for other information to be obtained.

Industrial Health and Safety: Coronavirus

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to encourage employers to undertake covid-19 health and safety risk assessments for severely immunocompromised employees.

Chloe Smith: COVID-19 remains a public health issue. There is no longer a requirement for every business to consider COVID-19 in their risk assessment or have COVID-19 control measures in place. The United Kingdom Health Security Agency has published guidance on reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, in the workplace. For people in England who are immunosuppressed (including employees), the Department of Health and Social Care has published guidance entitled: ‘COVID-19: guidance for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk’.

Severe Disability Premium: Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a person will continue to be treated as living alone under the qualifying conditions for the severe disability premium in the event that they are hosting Ukrainian refugees under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Chloe Smith: Ukrainian refugees living temporarily with a host, are not considered to be normally residing with them. This means that the host will not lose their entitlement to the severe disability premium.

Employment: Multiple Sclerosis

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of (a) the support available to help people with multiple sclerosis to succeed in the labour market and (b) further measures that could be taken to help improve this support.

Chloe Smith: A range of government initiatives, including schemes in partnership with the health system, are currently supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with multiple sclerosis, to live independent lives and start, stay and succeed in employment. These include the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work and Disability Confident. The response to the Health is Everyone’s Business consultation, published last year, set out actions to minimise the risk of ill-health related job loss. The last Spending Review and departmental funding allocation process assessed the current support available to help disabled people and people with health conditions, including those with multiple sclerosis, to succeed in the labour market and set future plans. Over the next three years, this government will invest £1.3bn in employment support for disabled people and people with health conditions. This will build up our provision further, including extending and expanding contracted employment support.

Occupational Health

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Health is everyone's business consultation, whether the commitments made in that consultation will be fully funded; when progress towards those commitments will be made public; and if she will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: The UK Government committed to provide £1.3bn over the SR21 period for employment support for disabled people and people with health conditions in the Levelling-Up White Paper. This includes commitments set out in Health is Everyone’s Business. In addition, the White Paper committed to extend or expand other programmes which will help disabled people and people with health conditions get into or remain in work. These include the Work and Health Programme, Intensive Personalised Employment Support and employment support in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services across England.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Countryside Stewardship Scheme: Expenditure

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the total spend on Countryside Stewardship Schemes in the current financial year.

Victoria Prentis: The Countryside Stewardship (CS) scheme offers farmers within England a variety of different agreement types, that allow farmers to receive funding based on environmentally beneficial outcomes. This can include both revenue and capital elements. We have recently increased payment rates by an average of 30%, and last year we saw application rates increase by 40%. Defra encourages where possible all eligible farmers and land managers to take part in the scheme that is now managed under domestic regulation and funding. The payment window to release payments for the 2021 scheme year runs from 1 December 2021 to 30 June 2022, details of this can be found here. The total value of payments that have been released to customers for the 2021/22 financial year (1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022) has been provided below. The forecasted 2021/22 financial year values have also been provided: Financial YearClaim TypeFunds Paid (EU and Domestic combined)Forecasted Fund Value2021/22Revenue£159,207,702£172,742,1742021/22Capital£104,293,691N/ATotal £263,501,393  Due to the flexible nature of capital claims, which has a rolling application date, alongside customers only claiming for their capital items once work is completed, it is impossible to predict the value of potential payments that would be released.

Air Pollution

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what action he is taking to reduce emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds from the food and beverage industry.

Jo Churchill: Pollution from large food, drink and milk manufacturers in England and Wales is controlled through the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016, which requires operators to have an environmental permit and use best available techniques (BAT) to reduce emissions to air, water, and land. In England, the Environment Agency performs regular audits to ensure compliance with emission requirements set in the permit. The Food, Drink and Milk BAT Conclusions set out the abatement technologies and methods operators should put in place, as well as emissions limits. They were reviewed in December 2019 to set stricter emissions standards. Existing permits are currently being reviewed to ensure compliance with the new standards.

Wood-burning Stoves

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2022 to Question 93692, on Wood-burning Stoves, what discussions he has had with representatives of the Climate Change Committee on the (a) inclusion of wood burners with low-carbon heat targets or renewables targets and (b) phasing out of those burners and (c) air quality.

Jo Churchill: Defra officials engage regularly with the Climate Change Committee on interactions between air quality and climate change.

Air Pollution

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what sources of emissions other than domestic wood burning were included in his estimate of domestic consumption accounting for 25 per cent of the total PM2.5 primary and 15 per cent of the total PM10 primary emissions in 2020.

Jo Churchill: Emissions of key air pollutants are compiled and reported by Defra on an annual basis through the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI). The data for 2020 is publicly available and was reported on 14 February 2022, via:https://naei.beis.gov.uk/data/. Emission estimates for domestic combustion in 2020 include emissions from the following fuels burned in domestic appliances; Anthracite, Burning oil, Charcoal, Coal, Gas oil, LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas), Natural gas, Peat, Petroleum coke, SSF (Solid Smokeless Fuels) and Wood. Details of the methodology used to estimate these emissions can be accessed in our Informative Inventory Report, via:https://naei.beis.gov.uk/reports/reports?report_id=1071

Air Pollution: Monitoring

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason data on particulate matter, PM2.5 and PM10, from the Automatic Urban and Rural Network was not available on his Department's UK-Air website for the Marylebone Road monitoring station during the days up to and including an air pollution episode that peaked on Friday 14 January 2022; and if he will publish details of any other areas with which there were issues with monitoring.

Jo Churchill: The data issues at Marylebone Road during the pollution episode that peaked on Friday 14 January were caused by the replacement of older equipment where a data communication error occurred that was not immediately identified. This error was preventing data flowing from the new instruments onto UK-air. This error was identified on 17 January and remedied on the same day. Data for PM2.5 and PM10 at the site can be viewed at: Data Selector Tool - Defra, UK UK-Air has been improved within the last 12 months to show data communications from Environment Agency managed contractors. This data now shows ‘live site code’ where live reasons for downtime are now available on the interactive map:Interactive monitoring networks map - Defra, UK

Air Pollution

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the proportion of total PM2.5 primary emissions from domestic combustion in the UK in 2020 that came from (a) open fireplaces, (b) wood burning stoves, (c) other solid fuel burning stoves, (d) bonfires, (e) firepits and (f) pizza ovens.

Jo Churchill: Emissions of key air pollutants are compiled and reported by Defra on an annual basis through the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI). The data for 2020 is publicly available and was reported on 14 February 2022, via:https://naei.beis.gov.uk/data/. Following recent improvement work, estimates of emissions from bonfires, chimeneas and fire pits are now included in the inventory as part of the ‘small-scale waste burning’ category. Details of the methodology used to estimate these emissions can be accessed in our Informative Inventory Report, via:https://naei.beis.gov.uk/reports/reports?report_id=1071 Emissions specifically from pizza ovens are not estimated in the inventory.

Air Pollution

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to page 58 of his Clean Air Strategy 2019, what recent estimate he has made of the emissions in g/MWh of fine particulate matter in homes from (a) solid fuel open fires, (b) non-Defra exempt stoves, (c) Defra exempt or Ecodesign stoves, (d) pellet-fired boilers, (e) oil-fired boilers, (f) gas-fired boilers and (g) electric heating.

Jo Churchill: The emission levels presented in the infographic on page 58 of the Clean Air Strategy were derived from emission factors in the EMEP 2016 Guidebook. The EMEP Guidebook was updated in 2019 and can be accessed via:https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/emep-eea-guidebook-2019

Air Pollution

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Emissions of air pollutants in the UK - Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), what sources of emissions are included in his 2020 estimates of (a) 15 per cent of PM10 and (b) 25 per cent of PM2.5 from domestic consumption.

Jo Churchill: Emissions of key air pollutants are compiled and reported by Defra on an annual basis through the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI). The data for 2020 is publicly available and was reported on 14 February 2022, via:https://naei.beis.gov.uk/data/. Emission estimates for domestic combustion in 2020 include emissions from the following fuels burned in domestic appliances; Anthracite, Burning oil, Charcoal, Coal, Gas oil, LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas), Natural gas, Peat, Petroleum coke, SSF (Solid Smokeless Fuels) and Wood. Details of the methodology used to estimate these emissions can be accessed in our Informative Inventory Report, via:https://naei.beis.gov.uk/reports/reports?report_id=1071

Plastic Bags: Taxation

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much money was raised from the Plastic Bag Charge in the last calendar year; and how much of that amount was directed to charitable causes.

Jo Churchill: During 2020/21, retailers reported they collected £24.8 million in gross proceeds from the single use carrier bag charge. Despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, retailers voluntarily reported that £10.9 million was donated to good causes, contributing to the £190 million donated since the charge was introduced in 2015. Whilst not required by legislation, once retailers have deducted reasonable costs for administration, it is expected they will donate all proceeds to good causes, particularly environmental causes.

Sewage: Waste Disposal

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether UK law prohibits water companies from discharging untreated sewage into waterways and coastal regions outside periods of heavy rainfall.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency in England have a duty under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations to issue environmental permits to water companies under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016, to limit pollution of receiving waters by storm water overflows.Environmental Permits for storm water overflows contain conditions which only allow a discharge to occur when and for as long as rainfall or snow melt reaches the capacity of the sewer. Any breach of the terms or conditions of an environmental permit is a criminal offence. In each case the Environment Agency will consider all of the circumstances surrounding a breach and apply its published Enforcement and Sanctions policy. This can be found at: Environment Agency enforcement and sanctions policy - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The Environment Agency is currently investigating several claims of permit breaches and will use the full force of the law should breaches be confirmed.This Government has made improving water quality a priority and has been clear that water companies must significantly reduce their use of sewage overflows. This includes a duty on water companies to progressively reduce their use in the Environment Act. The Government is building on the existing regulatory regime and the proposed targets published as part of the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan consultation will, for the first time, provide a clear definition for 'limit pollution' and will represent the largest investment and delivery programme to tackle storm sewage discharges in history. If we do not see the changes we expect, we won’t hesitate to take further action.

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks: Reviews

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the total amount of resources needed to ensure effective delivery of the vision for protected landscapes set out in his Department’s response to the Landscapes Review.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total size is of the Government’s core grant to National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty for (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total amount is of resources being invested in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 2021-2022 for the purposes of (a) nature recovery and (b) improving access and engagement opportunities and removing barriers to access for all parts of society.

Rebecca Pow: We recognise that the scale of the ambition set out in our response must be matched by equivalent resources to ensure effective delivery, particularly in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). We provide core funding for the protected landscapes, which for National Parks, AONBs, National Association of AONBs and Conservation Boards combined is: (a) £55,679,106 for 2021-22; (b) £56,585,136.00 for 2022-2023; and (c) £56,585,136.00 for 2023-24. During 2021-22, the Conservation Boards and 29 AONBs received an additional £940,000 in core grant funding. We have increased the core grant for AONBs by nearly £1m (15%) for the next financial year. Additional investment is being provided through our Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, which is funding farmers in National Parks and AONBs to deliver projects that support climate, nature, people and place between July 2021 and March 2024. Approximately £11m of funding was provided through the programme in financial year 2021/22. The Government has also invested £27.8m to date in the England Coast Path, which will be the longest waymarked and maintained coastal walking route in the world, linking up the best existing coastal paths and creating new ones where there were none before.

Food: Prices

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the likely percentage change in food prices over the next 12 months.

Victoria Prentis: Consumer food prices are driven by a number of factors including: domestic farmgate prices; international commodity prices; exchange rates; and food manufacturing costs. The latest inflation statistics for food and non-alcoholic beverages, published by the Office for National Statistics, shows an annual rate of inflation of 5.1 per cent in the year to February 2022. Food prices have been rising as a result of multiple factors including energy prices, strong commodity prices and labour shortages, among others. The conflict in Ukraine has compounded these existing pressures and also affected markets for particular commodities (e.g. wheat, maize, oilseeds) and will continue to have a direct effect on energy prices and fuel prices. The variety of direct and indirect impacts on markets makes it very difficult to estimate the likely overall effect on consumer food prices. It is also unknown the extent to which increased costs might be absorbed within margins across the food chain, or passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.Defra understands the pressure that rising food prices place on household budgets, and the impacts on businesses across the food chain. Defra has ongoing and regular contact with retailers and other stakeholders across the food chain, and continues to monitor commodity markets and other inflationary pressures.

Food Poverty

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to support people in food poverty (i) in Plymouth and (ii) across the country.

Victoria Prentis: Departments across government are working collectively to tackle poverty in all forms with a sustainable, long-term approach and to support people on lower incomes.  We know people are facing pressures with the increasing cost of living and recognise that some need extra support with essentials like food shopping and other day-to-day costs. These are global challenges, but the Government has taken action to support families worth over £22 billion in 2022-23. This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what has already been provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1 billion. In England, £421 million of this £500 million will be provided to extend the existing Household Support Fund, while the devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula. Plymouth Council was awarded £2,294,796.82 for the Household Support Fund between October 2021 and March 2022. The indicative allocations for the current Household Support Fund (April -September 2022) remain the same.

Home Office

Economic Crime

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the scale of illicit finance in the UK that may be linked to corruption and originates from African states.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the efficacy of UK efforts to stem the flow of money linked to (a) state capture and (b) other forms of corruption in African countries entering the UK’s private education system.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March to Question 143639 on National Crime Agency: Standards, how many cases involving money linked to corruption flowing from African states into the UK were prosecuted following National Crime Agency investigations in (a) 2018, (b) 2019 and (c) 2020.

Damian Hinds: The NCA has had no prosecutions in respect of money linked to corruption flowing from African states during 2018, 2019 and 2020. The Government regularly assesses the threat posed by corruption and money laundering, including through the NCA-led National Strategic Assessment and the joint Home Office and Treasury National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.The government also undertakes specific geographic research and analysis as required, including through the FCDO-funded Anti-Corruption Evidence Programme.In 2020 the National Crime Agency, through the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce, publicly issued an Amber Alert on the bribery and corruption risks in the independent schools sector. Its focus was country agnostic although it included African case studies.

Cybersecurity: International Cooperation

Dr Jamie Wallis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with international counterparts, such as her Danish counterpart, on cybersecurity.

Damian Hinds: I continue to speak regularly to my international counterparts on a wide range of security issues, including the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.The UK works closely with our international partners on Cyber Security through bilateral and multilateral fora including via the G7 meeting of Interior Ministers I hosted in London in September 2021.We have recently launched the National Cyber Strategy supported by £2.6 billion of new investment and a Government Cyber Security Strategy. This investment will strengthen the response from law enforcement, who partner with the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Cyber Force in order to keep the UK safe.

Terrorism: Yemen

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is reviewing the designation of the Houthi movement as a terrorist organisation; and what assessment she has made of the impact of the designation of that movement as a terrorist organisation on Yemeni citizens.

Damian Hinds: The Government condemns the recent attacks by the Houthis.The Government does not routinely comment on intelligence matters, including whether an organisation is under consideration for proscription. The Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review.

Treasury

Business: Taxation

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his objective to make tax digital for income tax self assessment, what latest estimate he has made of the numbers of UK businesses and landlords with annual business income above £100,000 who are (a) already fully converted to managing their records and payments digitally, (b) equipped to manage their records and payments digitally but not yet converted in full, and (c) not yet equipped to manage their records and payments digitally.

Lucy Frazer: HMRC research shows that 97 per cent of small businesses and landlords within the scope of Making Tax Digital (MTD) have access to a compatible device on which to operate it. For MTD for Income Tax, HMRC research shows that 52 per cent of businesses in scope incorporate spreadsheets and 22 per cent incorporate software into their recordkeeping practices. In September 2021, the Government announced businesses would have an extra year to prepare for MTD for Income Tax. Free software will be available for the smallest businesses with straightforward affairs. Over a third of VAT registered businesses with taxable turnover below £85,000  had already voluntarily chosen to join MTD for VAT, demonstrating that a modern and digital approach to managing tax can work for businesses of every size. HMRC  survey data from 2020 shows that around  61 per cent of VAT-registered businesses below the VAT threshold already employ compliant software in readiness for MTD . Online submissions for VAT returns have been mandatory for all VAT-registered businesses since 2010.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Creative Wales: Unboxed

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish a break down of expenditure by Creative Wales on each commissioned event taking place in Wales including (a) GALWAD, (b) About Us, (c) Green Space, Dark Skies, (d) StoryTrails and (e) Dreamachine, as part of the Unboxed festival.

Nigel Huddleston: UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK is delivered at arm’s length from the government by a subsidiary of the Organising Committee of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, alongside a strategic delivery body appointed by each of the devolved administrations. Creative Wales, the delivery body acting on behalf of the Welsh Government, is responsible for commissioning GALWAD, Wales’s lead UNBOXED project.As well as GALWAD, four more UNBOXED projects will present work in Wales: About Us, Green Space Dark Skies, StoryTrails and Dreamachine. These have been funded by the UK Government. Creative Wales is providing general advice and support to those projects in Wales. The individual commission values for the projects funded by HM Government have not been published at this time, but will be released in due course. The first UNBOXED project, About Us, visited Caernarfon earlier this month, where it was seen by around 16,000 people.

Channel Four Television

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her oral evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee of November 2021 that Channel 4 is in receipt of public money, if she will confirm what public funding Channel 4 receives.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the results of her Department's consultation on a change of ownership of Channel 4 Television Corporation.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to consult the public on its decision to privatise Channel 4.

Julia Lopez: As a self-financing public corporation, under its current ownership model, Channel 4 is publicly-owned but commercially run.Following an extensive public consultation, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has come to a decision that although Channel 4 as a business is currently performing well, public ownership is holding it back in the face of a rapidly-changing and competitive media landscape.The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has consulted with Cabinet colleagues on that decision. The Government will publish its consultation response shortly, and set out the future plan for Channel 4 in a White Paper.